Athletes for Arctic Refuge Protections

90 professional athletes have signed this letter to Congress, urging members to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from oil drilling. Please join in:

Dear Member of Congress,

We write to ask you to protect Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and ensure that drilling for oil in this sensitive landscape is not included in the budget process. As professional athletes, we not only deeply appreciate our nation’s wild spaces for their intrinsic value, but we also depend on these areas to practice our skills that support our livelihoods. Protecting the Arctic Refuge, and other wilderness areas like it, is not only protecting a wild place to recreate, but also protecting America’s recreational economy and our jobs.

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is one of our nation’s most iconic wild areas, and it deserves our most enduring legal protections. An immense wilderness, bursting with biodiversity and framed by the awe-inspiring Brooks Mountain Range, the Arctic Refuge is pristine, it is spectacular, and it belongs to all Americans. For more than fifty years, our country has remained committed to protecting this unparalleled landscape, particularly its sensitive Coastal Plain, and we want to ensure that it remains off-limits to development for future generations to experience.

Since 1989, Congress has successfully protected the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from backdoor attempts to drill for oil in this sensitive ecosystem. We believe that controversial Arctic Refuge drilling language does not belong in the budget process, and, in fact, threatens any must-pass legislation. Recent polling shows that the majority of Americans are “strongly opposed” to drilling in the Refuge. According to recent public opinion research commissioned by the Center on American Progress, 2/3 of Americans oppose drilling in the Arctic Refuge, with a majority (52%) “strongly opposed.” In addition, drilling our public lands for fossil fuels will lead to increased greenhouse gas emissions. We believe it is important to protect public lands not only for their unparalleled recreation and significant role in the outdoor recreation economy, but also to ensure a stable climate and a future of snowy winters, too.

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is an important national treasure with adventure-oriented recreational opportunities that are unmatched. We thank you and your staff for recognizing this by doing all you can to protect the Arctic Refuge and ensuring that it remains out of any backdoor attempts, such as the national budget process, to develop it.